Wireless transmission of temperature data for a geographic area

ABSTRACT

A user obtains an individual&#39;s body temperature data and transmits the data to a medical monitor (e.g., a medical device) for display. Additional data includes a timestamp and location of the body temperature data. Once the data is transmitted, a user may view the medical monitor for a temperature reading. For example, a doctor may take a patient&#39;s temperature and the temperature reading is displayed on a medical monitor. The body temperature data of each patient is detected using a preferred temperature detector, such as a temporal artery thermometer using an arterial heat balance approach. After collecting an individual&#39;s body temperature data, the body temperature data can be transferred to a processor. By sending body temperature data for many individuals for a geographic region, the processor can identify a pattern (e.g., a pandemic) in the body temperature data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, thermometers have been used in connection with medicalmonitors. For example, in 1994 a BCI ear thermometer was introduced byBioChem International using RS-232 to communicate with a monitor.Similarly, in 1996 DATASCOPE™ introduced an infrared ear thermometerhaving an infrared LED for the wireless transmission of the acquiredtemperature reading to the patient monitor. This thermometer wasdesigned for use as a stand alone temperature measuring device or to beused with medical monitors via an serial or asynchronous serialconnection. In 1996, the temporal artery thermometer was introduced inthe form of the LTXA. The LTXA is an infrared temporal arterythermometer using an RS-232 cable data link for data transmission. TheTemporal Artery thermometer may also be used with medical monitors.

For example, FIG. 2 shows a way of collecting and transmittingtemperature data that includes a body portion 205, a temperaturedetector 210, a communications path 215, and a medical device 220. Inone embodiment, a cradle 225 may be used to store the temperaturedetector 210. In use, the temperature detector 210 obtains a temperaturereading from a body portion 205 and sends the temperature reading to themedical device 220 for display. In particular embodiments, thetemperature detector 210 uses an RS-232 output and transmits thetemperature reading to the medical device 220.

In this example embodiment, the temperature detector 210 obtains bodytemperature data from the body portion 205. With the body temperaturedata, an internal core temperature can be computed using an arterialheat balance. The teachings of calculating body temperature data isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,685, which is hereby incorporated byreference. It is useful to note that embodiments of the presentinvention are not limited to temporal artery readings. Instead, any typeof temperature detector may be used, including axillary, ear, ornon-radiation detectors. Moreover, the medical device 220, instead ofthe temperature detector 210, may also calculate the temperature readingupon receiving the raw temperature data such as heat flux and ambienttemperature data. One such example is shown in FIG. 1.

In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates the temporal arteries 12 and 14 thatextend upwardly toward the side of the human face and bifurcate at 16and 18 in the forehead region. In that region, the temporal arterypasses over the skull bone very close to the skin and is thus termed thesuperficial temporal artery. The superficial temporal artery is,therefore, particularly accessible for providing temperature readingsand, as an artery, has a temperature close to the heart temperature.Further, there are no known arterial/venus anastomoses, that is, shuntsbetween the artery and veins for regulation of skin temperature.Accordingly, the blood flow is relatively stable, varying a maximum ofonly 50% as opposed to as much as 500% in other areas of the skin.

To locate the temporal artery, a temperature sensor, preferably aradiation detector 20, is scanned across the side of the forehead overthe temporal artery while electronics in the detector search for thepeak reading which indicates the temporal artery. Preferably, thattemperature reading is then further processed in accordance with analgorithm specific to the temporal artery for providing a displaytemperature which may, for example, correspond to core, oral or rectaltemperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

By sending body temperature data for many individuals, preferably overgeographic regions, the processor can identify a pattern (e.g., apandemic) in the body temperature data.

In an example embodiment a pattern is determined for body temperaturedata of multiple individuals. More accurately, a process detects bodytemperature data of a plurality of individuals and transmits the bodytemperature data over a wireless communications path to a processor. Theprocessor also receives or determines a timestamp and location for thebody temperature data. Analyzing the data, the processor determines apattern in the body temperature data. For convenience, the processorstores the body temperature data in a database, determines a pattern(e.g., an epidemic, pandemic, or an outbreak in an identified geographiclocation), and displays the pattern to a user of the processor.

In one convenient implementation, a transmitter sends body temperaturedata using a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) to send a Short Message Service (SMS), textmessage, or email message to the processor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an infrared thermometer scanning the temporal artery.

FIG. 2 is a high level view of collecting and transmitting temperaturedata.

FIG. 3 is a high level view of a medical monitor for displaying andtransmitting temperature data.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a wireless unit transmitting bodytemperature data.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example temperature reading andwireless transmission process.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cellular cradle connected to a temperaturedetector.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting multiple locations communicating with aprocessor.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of a processor displaying pattern information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A description of example embodiments of the invention follows.

The teachings of all patents, published applications and referencescited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIG. 3 is a high level view of a medical device 305 for displaying andtransmitting temperature data. The medical device 305 provides a user(e.g., a doctor) multiple attachments, such as a temperature detector315, blood pressure cuff, and oxygen pulse sensor, for obtaining medicaldata. The medical monitor 305 displays the medical data on a displayscreen 310 to allow a user to monitor a patient's medical data. Oneuseful piece of medical data that is collected and displayed istemperature 320. In operation, the temperature detector 315 obtains bodytemperature data from a body portion and provides the medical device 305with a temperature reading via a connection, such as RS-232. In aconvenient embodiment, the temperature detector 315 includes a wirelessmodule 325 for transmission. For example, the wireless module 325 may beused to transmit the temperature reading from the temperature detectorto a processor 330.

The processor 330 may access the temperature data to create a histogramfor an aggregate data collection. In particular, data may be used toevaluate screening programs at airports, schools, factories and otherpopulated environments, during perceived potential epidemics for personswho may be at risk for transmitting epidemic diseases. Such evaluationsmay be aided by the analysis of the data statistically to identifypersons with unexpectedly high temperatures, indicating possible fever.Such identified persons would be detained briefly for closer examinationby a medically trained person. The data would allow use of mathematicalroutines which would maximize the sensitivity for detecting sickindividuals to prevent the spread of disease, while minimizing falsepositives, which unnecessarily inconveniences people and adds delay.

FIG. 4 shows a wireless module 405 that transmits data from atemperature detector to a processor 425. In one embodiment, the wirelessmodule 405 may be a printed circuit board incorporating the features ofa commercial cell phone module. Further, the printed circuit board ofthe wireless module 405 may be in a plastic wall-mounted enclosure, suchas the cradle shown in FIG. 6. In a convenient embodiment, thewall-mounted enclosure serves as a cradle for a temperature detector,such as a temporal artery thermometer. The wireless module 405 may be atri-band global use including a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card410, memory 415 to store an email address or account information, and anantenna 420. It is useful to note that the wireless module 405 may beoperated using battery or AC/DC adapter power.

In operation, the wireless module 405 transmits data via email using thewireless module 405 and SIM card 410. More specifically, the wirelessmodule 405 obtains an email account address stored in the SIM card 410,memory 415, or a microchip within the wireless module 405. The wirelessmodule 405 transmits a temperature reading, the time of the temperaturereading, and the location of the temperature reading via an emailmessage to the processor 425 for processing. During transmission, thewireless module 405 may use an antenna 420 that is either external asshown or an on-board antenna. After transmission, the processorprocesses the data. It is useful to note that the data may be receivedby a database on the processor 425 instead of an email account. Further,the data may be time stamped by the processor 425 or receiving emailaccount. Likewise, the location of the data may be determined by theprocessor 425 or receiving email account based on specified information,such as a registration card for the wireless module 405. In a convenientembodiment, the wireless module 405 also includes a real-time clock fortime stamping the data and a Global Positioning System (GPS) module toidentify location of the data.

In an alternative embodiment, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) may beused for transmitting data and data is sent over a cell phone networkusing an authenticated account. GPRS is a mobile data service availableto users of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and IS-136mobile units. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte oftransferred data, while data communication via traditional circuitswitching is billed per minute of connection time, independent ofwhether the user has actually transferred data or he has been in an idlestate. GPRS can be utilized for services such as Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) access, and SMS, but also for Internet communicationservices such as email and web access. GPRS costs are directlyproportionate to the amount of data sent. Thus, when sending smallamounts of data, GPRS may be more cost effective than using an emailaccount. One additional way to increase cost effectiveness is totransmit a group of temperature readings and associated information in abatch. Using a batch to transmit data, allows fewer packets of data tobe transmitted resulting in a cost reduction.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram 500 illustrating an example temperature readingand wireless transmission process. After beginning, the process detectsbody temperature data for multiple individuals (505). Next, the processtransmits the body temperature data over a wireless communications pathto a processor (510). After transmitting the body temperature data, theprocess determines a pattern in the body temperature data using theprocessor (515). For example, mathematical routines may be applied tothe data to identify a pattern and, in turn, indicate a pandemicoutbreak in a geographic area.

Patterns may be identified from a control or baseline for an averagepercentage of fevers per day. Temporal and spatio-temporal data can beused to assess day-to-day and day and place variability of data from anexpected baseline. In some cases, about half the baseline data includesan above average temperature. Thus, approaches are used that includestandard deviations of data to prevent false positives of an outbreak.One such approach that recognizes false positives is the syndromicsurveillance used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC™). The syndromic surveillance, for example, may be used foroutbreak detection to identify a signal corresponding to an outbreak orcluster amid substantial “background noise” in the data. Yet anotherexample approach is the Early Aberration Reporting System™ (EARS)created by the CDC™. EARS may be used to identify influenza or otheraliments based on data, such as temperature data.

In particular embodiments, a cradle is used to enclose a cellular moduleas shown in FIG. 6. In particular, FIG. 6 shows a cradle 605 that has acellular module 610 within an enclosure 615. In operation, the cellularmodule 610 receives data from a temperature detector 620 via aconnection 625. After receiving the data, the cellular module 610transmits the data to a processor. In an embodiment, the temperaturedetector 620 is also placed in the cradle 605, which does not affect thecellular module 610 transmission of data to the processor.

A processor may receive data from multiple locations. More specifically,FIG. 7 shows multiple sites 705 sending data to a processor 710. Forexample, multiple Sentinel clinics may send temperature readings to acentral processor. After sending the data to the processor 710, theprocessor 710 can process the data from each of the multiple sites 705to identify one or more outbreaks over multiple geographic locations. Insome cases an outbreak may be identified in multiple geographiclocations. Identifying an outbreak may be done visually by viewing aprocessor display as shown in FIG. 8. More accurately, FIG. 8 shows aprocessor 805 displaying medical data information 810 in a useful way.For example, a display band 815 may indicate to a user that an outbreakexists in a geographic location. It is useful to note that indicationsfrom multiple bands may indicate an outbreak in multiple geographicallocations.

It should be understood that the processes disclosed herein, such astransmitting temperature readings, such as FIG. 5, may be implemented inthe form of hardware, firmware, and/or software. If implemented insoftware, the software may be processor instructions in any suitablesoftware language and stored on any form of computer readable medium.The processor instructions are loaded and executed by a processor, suchas a general purpose or application specific processor, that, in turn,performs the example embodiments disclosed herein.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to example embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

1. A method of identifying a pattern in body temperature data,comprising: using a common temperature detector to detect bodytemperature data for a plurality of individuals; transmitting from thecommon temperature detector the body temperature data over a wirelesscommunications path to a processor; and determining a pattern in thebody temperature data from the plurality of individuals using theprocessor to indicate a disease outbreak in a geographic area based on achange in percentage of fevers for a time period and using statisticalanalysis of the temperature data to avoid false positives in indicationof the disease outbreak.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein using thecommon temperature detector to detect body temperature data of aplurality of individuals further comprises scanning across the temporalartery for each individual to obtain body temperature data.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising storing the body temperature datain a database in the processor.
 4. The method of claim 1 whereintransmitting the body temperature data uses a cell phone module.
 5. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the cell phone module includes a SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) card.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein the cellphone module includes a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).
 7. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the cell phone module transmits in the form ofa Short Message Service (SMS), text message, or email message.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising displaying the pattern to a user ofthe processor.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern identifiesan epidemic.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern identifies apandemic.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern identifies anoutbreak in an identified geographic location.
 12. The method of claim 1further comprising transmitting the body temperature data from multiplelocations.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern identifies anoutbreak in multiple geographic locations.
 14. A system for identifyinga pattern in temperature data, comprising: a common temperature detectorto detect body temperature data for a plurality of individuals; atransmitter associated with the common temperature detector thattransmits body temperature data from the common temperature detectorover a wireless communications path to a processing unit; and theprocessing unit that determines a pattern in the body temperature datafrom the plurality of individuals to indicate a disease outbreak in ageographic area based on a change in percentage of fevers for a timeperiod and uses statistical analysis of the temperature data to avoidfalse positives in indication of the disease outbreak.
 15. The system ofclaim 14 wherein the common temperature detector scans across thetemporal artery to obtain body temperature data.
 16. The system of claim14 wherein the processor stores the body temperature data in a database.17. The system of claim 14 wherein the transmitter is a cell phonemodule.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the cell phone moduleincludes Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card to transmit bodytemperature data.
 19. The system of claim 17 wherein the cell phonemodule includes a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to transmit bodytemperature data.
 20. The system of claim 17 wherein the cell phonemodule transmits in the form a Short Message Service (SMS), textmessage, or email message to transmit body temperature data.
 21. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein the processing unit displays the pattern to auser of the processing unit.
 22. The system of claim 14 wherein thepattern identifies an epidemic.
 23. The system of claim 14 wherein thepattern identifies a pandemic.
 24. The system of claim 14 wherein thepattern identifies an outbreak in an identified geographic location. 25.The system of claim 14 wherein the pattern is based on the bodytemperature data from multiple transmitters.
 26. The system of claim 14wherein the pattern identifies an outbreak in multiple geographiclocations.
 27. A system for identifying a pattern in body temperaturedata, comprising: means for detecting body temperature data for aplurality of individuals, the means for detecting body temperature databeing common for the plurality of individuals; means for transmittingthe body temperature data from the means for detecting body temperaturedata over a wireless communications path to a processor means; and theprocessor means for determining a pattern in the body temperature datafrom the plurality of individuals to indicate a disease outbreak in ageographic area based on a change in percentage of fevers for a timeperiod, the processor means using statistical analysis of thetemperature data to avoid false positives in indication of the diseaseoutbreak.
 28. A system for transmitting temperature data, comprising: acommon temperature detector that detects body temperature data of aplurality of individuals; a cellular transmitter associated with thecommon temperature detector that transmits body temperature data of theplurality of individuals from the common temperature detector over awireless communications path to a processing unit; and a processor thatdetermines a pattern in body temperature data of the plurality ofindividuals to indicate a disease outbreak in a geographic area based ona change in percentage of fevers for a time period and uses statisticalanalysis of the temperature data to avoid false positives in indicationof the disease outbreak.